Ford's Carbon Fiber GT350R Wheels Use NASA Technology

The absolutelyevil sounding, track-ready Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R is a racing-inspired marvel among mass-produced cars, a fact that's most clearly highlighted by the wheels Ford is putting on the thing: R models come from the factory with carbon fiber wheels, a distinction previously reserved for a handful of special-order Koenigsegg hypercars.

We've known this fact since the Shelby GT350 and GT350R debuted late last year, but today Ford released a few more details about the wonder-fiber wheels for each new Mustang Shelby GT350R. In short: There's NASA tech in those wheels.

Calling them "the world's first mass-produced carbon fiber wheels," (Koenigsegg and aftermarket offerings notwithstanding) Ford says that the carbon fiber wheels weigh a mere 18 pounds each, compared to around 33 pounds for a comparable aluminum wheel. This, Ford claims, adds up to a 60-pound total reduction in unsprung weight, and a 40-percent drop in rotational inertia. As we learned at the car's debut, the carbon wheels measure 19 by 11 inches up front, with an extra half-inch of width out back, wrapped in hyper-sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires with a unique tread compound and construction.

Produced by Carbon Revolution of Australia, the wonder-wheels faced significant engineering challenges to be included on a roadgoing car. Ford says the wheels required a special coating to protect the carbon fiber resins from UV degradation and road salt (and gosh, something perverse within us loves the notion of a GT350R as a winter driver, splattered in road salt and constantly in a state of snow-covered oversteer).

Experimental carbon fiber wheels photographed at Ford's technology center in California. Measuring 19 by 5 inches, these wheels are different from those that will appear on the GT350R, but constructed using the same technique.

Robert Sorokanich

There was also a curb-impact test, which Ford claims was handled so smoothly by the GT350R's real-time adaptive MagneRide suspension, "the driver wasn't sure the test had been carried out correctly and ran it twice to be sure." Color us a tad skeptical on that one—maybe Ford's test curbs are smaller than the ones we regularly try to avoid.

Of course, since the GT350R is built to be a track day beast, it brings particular challenges to the table, namely heat. Ford says the GT350R's front brake rotors can reach temperatures over 1652 degrees F (900 C), presenting a thermal challenge to the integrity of the wheels. The solution? An aerospace-derived ceramic spray coating that's nearly as hard as diamond and was first developed for engine turbine blades for the original Space Shuttle. Applied to the inside of the front wheel barrels and the backs of the spokes, the coating, which is also used in open-wheel racing, reduces maximum wheel temperatures to prolong service life in the crucible of the racetrack.

Unfortunately, you won't be able to admire that carbon fiber beauty on production GT350Rs: Ford had to develop a high-gloss black finish to protect the wheels. The last person who gets to admire the carbon fiber in these high-tech rollers is the quality inspector who examines each wheel using the same CT scanner technology used in medical imaging, peering at cross-sections of each completed wheel to make sure it's up to spec.

It's just one more thing to drool over on the new Mustang Shelby GT350R. We can't wait to get our hands on one when they hit the streets at the end of this year.

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